With the addition of Audi and Cadillac joining the grid, BMW has signalled rejoining Formula One serves no purpose to the German brand.
With two new brands, Audi and Cadillac, joining the Formula One grid in 2026, BMW has told Australian media it has no plans to return to the top-level racing series.
Speaking to journalists, BMW M CEO Frank van Meel said "the answer is no" when asked if F1 racing is back on the cards, as the German brands looks to focus on disciplines that lean closer to its production models.
"We try to be closer to our series products with everything we do," van Meel said.
"That’s why we were quite happy with having the M4 in the GT4 and GT3 class using the engine that is in every M car with a six-cylinder."
BMW has had a long history with the open-wheeled racing series, being an engine supplier for Brabham, ATS, Arrows, Bennetton, and Ligier throughout the 1980s, then later supplying Williams with a powerplant for the 2000 to 2005 seasons.
The German manufacturer later entered the race series as a factory team in 2006, where it folded in 2009 due to a lack of funds and growing international economic uncertainty.
Still, BMW shifted its focus onto other racing forms that are more closely aligned to its road-going vehicles, such as GT3, in racing series such as the World Endurance Championship, DTM, IMSA SportsCar Championship, and the GT World Challenge Europe.
However, van Meel recognised the F1 as a "marketing" opportunity due to the millions of viewers each race attracts across the world.
"[Formula One] is very nice from a marketing standpoint because if you look at the reach, it's the biggest event or the biggest race you can have," van Meel said.
"So from a marketing standpoint in reaching people it would be great, but from a technology standpoint we don't see it achieving the targets we have, so that's why we stay out of Formula One.”
Despite preferring road-car-based race series for developmental purposes, BMW does still race an Le Mans Daytona hybrid (LMDh) prototype car in endurance series, powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged hybrid V8 as a means to develop production cars.
“With the LMDh race car and the IMSA car with the V8 hybrid concept, it is something where, in regard to application and energy saving, we use a lot of spillover between racing and production products,” van Meel said.
“We've been racing now with the hybrid system for four years. I think this year is going to be the first one in Formula One that there's a hybrid system, but actually the technology used [in Formula One] is so far away from anything that's used in production cars.”
Zane Dobie comes from a background of motorcycle journalism, working for notable titles such as Australian Motorcycle News Magazine, Just Bikes and BikeReview. Despite his fresh age, Zane brings a lifetime of racing and hands-on experience. His passion now resides on four wheels as an avid car collector, restorer, drift car pilot and weekend go-kart racer.
